Class Notes

Cub Scout Pack No. 324 took part in the Scouting for Food program, which unites local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts to collect food for needy families in the area.

The boys, ranging in age from 7 to 11, began their project on Nov. 4, walking all over the Pheasant Walk community west of Boca Raton and leaving door hangers announcing their food drive. They returned to Pheasant Walk to collect the donations on Nov. 11.

"I'm certainly proud of them to take two Saturdays of their lives to do this," said troop leader Doug Gibney, who has been with the pack for four years.

The food was taken to Spanish River Church in Boca Raton, where it was distributed to area agencies, including Boca Helping Hands, Faith Farm Ministries, The Salvation Army, CROSS Ministries and the Wayne Barton Study Center.

West Boca Raton

High School

The drama department is having a holiday boutique from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 2. in the school cafeteria.

There will be jewelry, items for the home and gifts for sale. All proceeds will benefit the drama department. The sale is open to the public. The school is at 12811 Glades Road. Call 561-451-9939.

Congress Middle School, Boynton Beach

Karl Joseph, a seventh-grader from Boynton Beach, attended the five-day Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. He learned about U.S. leaders through history and attended a reception on Capitol Hill, the report said.

Joseph, 13, also attends St. Andrew's School's South Florida Summerbridge program. The program gives public school students the chance to learn in a private school setting. He enrolled in the program in 2005 and is expected to graduate in 2008.

St. Joseph's Episcopal School, Boynton Beach

Students from Betsy Chiodo's first-grade class are providing books for underprivileged children, while improving their own reading skills, through Scholastic Books' ClassroomsCare program, according to a school report.

Sixteen students read 100 books between Oct. 1 and Nov. 2.

As a reward, the ClassroomsCare program will donate 100 books to nonprofit organizations that will distribute them to needy students.

Seminole Trails Elementary School, West Palm Beach

The Florida Association of Science Teachers, known as FAST, named William Rizzo the 2006 Elementary School Science Teacher of the Year, according to a report from the School District of Palm Beach County.

Rizzo received the honor during the organization's conference at the University of Florida in Gainesville in early October.

The association also selected Bak Middle School of the Arts teacher Tracy Smith as the 2006 Middle School Science Teacher of the Year.

Rizzo, who has been teaching for 10 years, said he enjoys seeing his own enthusiasm reflected in his students.

"I love that I'm able to work with kids, and the feeling I get when the light bulb goes on in their brains," he said.

Science can be exciting, Rizzo said. He taps into his students' interests by using hands-on experiments to teach them about chemical reactions. Sometimes, he teaches students how to make their own goop.

"It can get messy, but I want them to enjoy science, and if they have fun, they enjoy coming to the science lab," he said.

Forest Hill High School, West Palm Beach

Senior Isis Milian of West Palm Beach was among 18 students in the country who received the U.S. Army's Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Legion of Valor Award for Achievement for her character and leadership, according to a school report.

Milian, a JROTC battalion commander, came to the United States with her parents and sister from Cuba seven years ago.

She has received more than 35 honors and awards, including the Legion of Valor for Achievement, which was presented to her by Medal of Honor recipient Paul Bucha during a ceremony at Palm Beach Community College, the report said.

Minerva Romo can be reached at 561-243-6614. Send items for Class Notes to her at mromo@sun-sentinel.com.